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The Solow Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Solow Foundation

$50k
Granted FY2020
4
Grants FY2020
1
States reached
$30k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0197% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2020.

Health$117kArts & Culture$111kReligion$41kEducation$16kFood & Nutrition$16kPhilanthropy$6kCrime & Legal$5kEnvironment$5kOther$0
02FY2020 · 4 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2020

  • Under $10k3 grants · $20k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $30k
$8,500
Median grant
1
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Individual grant recipient$30,000
AMERICAN FRIENDS OF RABIN MEDICAL CENTER$8,500
UJA-FEDERATION OF NEW YORK$6,000
OPHTHALMIC EDGE$5,000
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–20) land where the poverty rate runs at 16%, against an area that typically sits at 6%. 97% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 6%JEWISH CENTER OF THE HAMPTONS: $11k → 7%LEXINGTON SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF: $5k → 13%CHABAD CENTER FOR JEWISH DISCOVERY: $10k → 14%CITY HARVEST INC: $1k → 17%LAW ENFORCEMENT LEGAL DEFENSE FUND: $5k → 6%EAST HAMPTON LIBRARY: $5k → 7%LEXINGTON SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF: $1k → 13%CHABAD CENTER FOR JEWISH DISCOVERY: $10k → 14%FRIENDS OF AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU FOUNDATION: $10k → 17%FOOD ALLERGY RESEARCH & EDUCATION INC: $5k → 6%GUILD HALL OF EAST HAMPTON INC: $5k → 7%AMERICAN FRIENDS OF TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY: $10k → 17%GUILD HALL OF EAST HAMPTON: $3k → 7%UJA-FEDERATION OF NEW YORK: $6k → 17%SAG HARBOR PARTNERSHIP: $5k → 7%HOSPITAL FOR SPECIAL SURGERY FUND: $25k → 17%THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART: $74k → 17%FRIENDS OF THE EAST RIVER ESPLANADE: $5k → 17%OPHTHALMIC EDGE: $5k → 17%OPHTHALMICEDGE INC: $5k → 17%MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING CANCER CENTER: $5k → 17%OPHTHALMIC EDGE INC: $5k → 17%ALZHEIMER'S DRUG DISCOVERY FOUNDATION: $10k → 17%ALZHEIMER'S ASSOCIATION: $25k → 17%AMERICAN FRIENDS OF RABIN MEDICAL CENTER: $18k → 17%AMERICAN FRIENDS OF RABIN MEDICAL CENTER: $10k → 17%AMERICAN FRIENDS OF RABIN MEDICAL CENTER: $9k → 17%SOLOMON R GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM AND FOUNDATION: $4k → 17%CITYMEALS ON WHEELS: $10k → 17%CHERRY ORCHARD FESTIVAL: $30k → 17%THE NEW YORK LANDMARKS CONSERVANCY: $5k → 17%YOUNG JEWISH PROFESSIONALS: $10k → 17%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

25%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$85k · 5 repeat orgs$261k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +86% since the first grant, against +50% for those funded once.

5 repeat relationships: 2 still active in FY2020, 3 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2020 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

5
18

Total granted

$85k
$225k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+86%
+50%

Still filing today

60%
67%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2020, 27% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $36k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’17’18’19’20
Arts & CultureHealthFood & NutritionInternationalPhilanthropySocial ScienceOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • AF
    AMERICAN FRIENDS OF RABIN MEDICAL CENTER
    3× · 2017–2020 · $37k · revenue +86%
  • CC
    CHABAD CENTER FOR JEWISH DISCOVERY
    2× · 2017–2018 · $20k
  • OI
    OPHTHALMICEDGE INC
    3× · 2017–2020 · $15k · revenue -3%

Funded once

  • MM
    METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ARTgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $74k · revenue +58%
  • AA
    ALZHEIMER'S ASSOCIATION
    one grant, 2019 · $25k
  • TH
    The Hospital for Special Surgery Fund Incgraduated
    one grant, 2019 · $25k · revenue +26%
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
The Jewish Museum

The mission of the jewish museum is to collect, preserve, exhibit and interpret art and jewish culture. see schedule o for more information.

Arts & Culture
2
Museum of Jewish Heritage a Living Memorial to the Holocaust

The museum of jewish heritage - a living memorial to the holocaust is new york's contribution to the global responsibility to never forget. see schedule o for additional information.

Arts & Culture
3
Long Island Jewish Medical Center

Long island jewish medical center is part of the northwell health ("northwell"), which strives to improve the health of the communities it serves and is committed to providing the highest quality clinical care; educating the current and…

Health
4
Harvard Club of Ny Historical Foundation
Environment
5
American Museum of Natural History

The museum's mission statement is: "to discover, interpret, and disseminate - through scientific research and education - knowledge about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe."

Arts & Culture
6
North Shore University Hospital

North shore university hospital is part of northwell health ("northwell"), which strives to improve the health of the communities it serves and is committed to providing the highest quality clinical care; educating the current and future…

Health
7
The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research

The feinstein institute for medical research ("the institute") is the research branch of northwell health ("northwell"). through its affiliation with northwell, the institute's mission is to bridge the gap between biomedical research and…

Health
8
Jewish Food Society Inc

Jewish food society works to preserve and celebrate jewish culinary heritage from around the world in order to increase awareness and deepen connections to jewish life. jfs is committed to showcasing the diversity of the jewish experience,…

Arts & Culture
9
Lenox Hill Hospital

Lenox hill hospital is part of northwell health ("northwell"), which strives to improve the health of the communities it serves and is committed to providing the highest quality clinical care; educating the current and future generations…

Health
10
Northwell Health Foundation

Northwell health foundation inc. is dedicated toward helping donors, patients, and leaders link their vision and philanthropic support toward helping the underserved and uninsured, advancing the latest frontiers in medical technology and…

Health
11
American Friends of Hebrew University Inc

Support the hebrew univ. of jerusalem, israel's foremost center of higher edu. & research.

International
12
Staten Island University Hospital

Staten island university hospital is an affiliate within northwell health, inc. ("northwell"), which strives to improve the health of the communities it serves and is committed to providing the highest quality clinical care; educating the…

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is New York Landmarks Conservancy Inc; the most unlike its peers is Metropolitan Museum of Art. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

16 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 16 of the 25 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
16/16
Grantees still filing
13/16
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Individual grant recipient: $30,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientALZHEIMER'S ASSOCIATION: $25,000 · OtherALZHEIMER'S ASSOCIATIONCHABAD CENTER FOR JEWISH DISCOVERY: $19,850 · OtherCHABAD CENTER FOR JEWISH DISCOVERYJEWISH CENTER OF THE HAMPTONS: $11,000 · OtherJEWISH CENTER OF THE HAMPTONSYOUNG JEWISH PROFESSIONALS: $10,000 · OtherYOUNG JEWISH PROFESSIONALSLEXINGTON SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF: $6,000 · OtherFRIENDS OF THE EAST RIVER ESPLANADE: $5,000 · OtherMEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING CANCER CENTER: $5,000 · OtherLaw Enforcement Legal Defense Fund: $5,000 · OtherEAST HAMPTON LIBRARY: $5,000 · OtherNEW YORK LANDMARKS CONSERVANCY INC: $5,000 · OtherSOLOMON R GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM AND FOUNDATION: $4,454 · OtherMETROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART: $73,948 · Arts & CultureMETROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ARTAUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU MEMORIAL FOUNDATION: $10,000 · Arts & CultureAUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU MEMORIAL FOU…GUILD HALL OF EAST HAMPTON INC: $7,500 · Arts & CultureGUILD HALL OF EAST HAMPTON INCSAG HARBOR PARTNERSHIP INC: $5,000 · Arts & CultureAMERICAN FRIENDS OF RABIN MEDICAL CENTER: $36,800 · HealthAMERICAN FRIENDS OF RABIN…The Hospital for Special Surgery Fund Inc: $25,000 · HealthThe Hospital for Special …OPHTHALMICEDGE INC: $15,000 · HealthOPHTHALMICEDGE INCCITYMEALS-ON-WHEELS: $10,000 · Food & NutritionFOOD ALLERGY RESEARCH & EDUCATION INC: $5,000 · Food & NutritionCITY HARVEST INC: $1,000 · Food & NutritionALZHEIMER'S DRUG DISCOVERY FOUNDATION: $10,000 · Social ScienceAmerican Friends of Tel Aviv Univ: $10,000 · InternationalUNITED JEWISH APPEAL-FEDERATION OF JEWISH PHILANTHROPIES OF NEW YORK INC: $6,000 · Philanthropy
Other$131,304Arts & Culture$96,448Health$76,800Food & Nutrition$16,000Social Science$10,000International$10,000Philanthropy$6,000

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetMETROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART: $73,948 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN FRIENDS OF RABIN MEDICAL CENTER: $36,800 over 3y, 1.1% of budgetThe Hospital for Special Surgery Fund Inc: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetOPHTHALMICEDGE INC: $15,000 over 3y, 5.5% of budgetCITYMEALS-ON-WHEELS: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetALZHEIMER'S DRUG DISCOVERY FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU MEMORIAL FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetAmerican Friends of Tel Aviv Univ: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGUILD HALL OF EAST HAMPTON INC: $7,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetUNITED JEWISH APPEAL-FEDERATION OF JEWISH PHILANTHROPIES OF NEW YORK INC: $6,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFOOD ALLERGY RESEARCH & EDUCATION INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSAG HARBOR PARTNERSHIP INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetLaw Enforcement Legal Defense Fund: $5,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetNEW YORK LANDMARKS CONSERVANCY INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCITY HARVEST INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Jewish Communal FundThe Donald and Barbar…National Philanthropi…Vanguard Charitable E…Morgan Stanley Global…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Jewish Communal FundNY16× affinity6 shared granteesties to 7 of 7Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Jewish Communal Fund · The Donald and Barbara Zucker Family Foundation · National Philanthropic Trust · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile Foundation

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization The Solow Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Solow Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%13%25%38%50%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    6report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–50%
    typical government reliance, FY20–25
    How this is measured
    Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.
    05Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to The Solow Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to The Solow Foundation through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.

    Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.

    On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 25 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

    How this is measured
    Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

    Generated from the IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2020, released 2020. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2021) is on record and reports no grant expense, so the figures above are from FY2020, the most recent year this funder made grants.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Solow’s filings →

    More from the funding graph

    The unnamed billions
    grants reported with no recipient in the public record
    The regranting layer
    51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
    The DAF merry-go-round
    $9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
    The endowment market
    who holds foundation money, and what just moved
    The camps
    funders cluster by geography, not ideology
    By state
    where grant money is based, and what stays home